Famed Harlem Renaissance Artist William Henry Johnson Exhibit to Open at Touro Law

Touro Law, NYS Office of Mental Health and Islip Arts Council Present Exhibit in Celebration of Black History Month

February 12, 2018

Touro Law will host an exhibit celebrating the brilliant works and tragic life of Harlem Renaissance artist William Henry Johnson. The exhibit, titled “My Family of Primitiveness and Tradition” is sponsored by Touro Law Center, The New York State Office of Mental Health and The Islip Arts Council and is being held in celebration of Black History Month. Opening ceremony of the exhibit will be held on Tuesday, February 20 at 6 p.m. at Touro Law Center at 225 Eastview Drive in Central Islip, NY.
 
William Henry Johnson was an African-American painter born in South Carolina but who spent the last 23 years of his life at the Central Islip State Hospital. Johnson, who studied at the National Academy of Design in New York City, lived in France and Scandinavia before settling back in the United States. He worked as a teacher at the Harlem Community Art Center. His style evolved from realism to expressionism to a powerful folk style for which he is best known. The Smithsonian American Art Museum holds a substantial collection of his works.
 
Johnson is buried in the former hospital cemetery located adjacent to Touro Law Center. The exhibit will also present a view of the complex history of the Central Islip State Hospital and of the cemetery. 
 
The exhibit runs at Touro Law through Friday, March 16 then will reopen shortly thereafter in its permanent home at the Islip Art Museum in Islip. The exhibit is free and open to the public. For additional information, please email events@tourolaw.edu or call 631.761.7066.
 
XXX

Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law is located adjacent to both a state and a federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York. Touro Law’s proximity to the courthouses, coupled with programming developed to integrate the courtroom into the classroom, provide a one-of-a kind learning experience for law students, combining a rigorous curriculum taught by expert faculty with a practical courtroom experience. Touro Law is dedicated to providing hands-on learning that enables students to gain experience while offering much-needed legal services in the community.

Touro Law, which has an alumni base of more than 6,000, offers full- and part-time J.D. programs where students can earn a degree in 2, 3, 4 or 5 years and provides four areas of concentration. A FlexTime J.D. Program is also offered, combining online and on-campus learning for non-traditional law students. Touro Law offers several dual degree programs and graduate law programs for US and foreign law graduates, including a new online LL.M. in Aging & Longevity Law. Touro Law Center is part of the Touro College system.

About the Touro College and University System 
Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 19,200 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has 30 campuses and locations in New York, California, Nevada, Berlin, Jerusalem and Moscow. New York Medical College; Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus; Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division; as well as Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Ill. are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/news/.

For more info contact:
Patti Desrochers
Director of Communications
pattid@tourolaw.edu
(631) 761-7062

Request Information